How to Play Bezique | HowStuffWorks How to Play Bezique NEXT PAGENEXT Bezique, the forerunner of the card game Pinochle, was invented in the early 1800s in Sweden. By the 1850s, it was a hit all across Europe, and it soon arrived in America. It's still widely enjoyed in Britain. Over the years there have been many exciting variations of Bezique. In this article, you will. learn how to play classic Bezique, Rubicon Bezique, and Chinese Bezique. Let's get started with traditional Bezique: Number of players: Two Card Term Glossary Here's a quick reference for some of the card language you will find in this article. Follow suit: To play a card of the suit led. Lead: To play the first card to a trick. Marriage: A meld consisting of the king and queen. Meld: A combination of cards with scoring value, generally three or more cards in sequence in one suit or all of the same rank; also, to show or play such a combination. Stock: The undealt cards available for future use.

Table: The playing area; also, to lay down a meld on the playing area. Trick: A round of cards played, one from each player's hand. Trump: A suit designated to be higher ranking than any other suit; any card in that suit. Also, to play a trump card on a trick. Upcard: The first card turned up after a deal, often to begin play or initiate a discard pile. For a complete listing of card terminology, click here . Object: To score points by melding and by taking tricks containing aces and 10s (brisques). The cards: Two sets of 32 cards, consisting of aces through 7s, are shuffled together into one 64-card deck. Cards rank -- from high to low -- A-10-K-Q-J-9-8-7. To play: Deal eight cards to each player, in groups of three, two, and three, and then turn up a card. This "upcard" will designate which suit will be trump. Place that card face up and so that it is slightly sticking out from under the draw pile. If the trump upcard is a 7, dealer scores 10 points immediately.

Nondealer starts play by leading any card. At this stage of play, and as long as there remain cards to draw, you are not obliged to follow suit; you may play any of your cards. The highest trump in a trick wins it, or, if there is no trump card, the highest card of the suit led wins it. When two identical cards contend for the same trick (for example, two 10s), the first one played wins the trick. The winner of each trick scores 10 points for each ace or 10 (also called a "brisque") it contains, and may also table one meld. (You may tally the 10 points for a 7 of trumps along with a meld, and if you table the first 7 of trumps you may also trade it for the trump upcard.) Tally all points when you meld as you score them (see "Melds in Bezique" table below). Tally brisques at the end of the hand. Both players take a new card from the stock, with the winner of the previous trick drawing first and then leading to the next trick.

Melded cards stay on the table until the stock is used up, but you may still play them on tricks. A card you meld one time can be used again, but only in a different meld and only with a winning trick. For example: Q melds with K in a marriage and can also meld later for 60 points with Q-- Q. But it can't meld with a second K -- a completely new pair is needed to score the second marriage. When only the upcard and one draw card remain, the upcard goes to the trick-loser. Put your remaining melded cards back in your hand, with the winner of the previous trick taking the last draw card and leading to the next trick. In the play of the final eight cards, each player must follow suit and also must win a trick whenever possible. Whoever wins the final trick scores an extra 10 points. ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. lead, though it gives opponent the chance to win a brisque. Instead, you could try either J, but as a card of lower rank, it is a more likely loser.

Scoring: The first player to accumulate 1,000 points -- or any other agreed-upon sum -- wins. Tips: The play in Bezique has 32 tricks, in which your opponent will try to trump any ace or 10 you lead. Therefore, you should save your 10s to win lower cards when your opponent leads. Meanwhile, there's usually a difficult suit for your opponent to win tricks in. Even if you lead low cards of that suit, it may cause discomfort: Players want to hold on to melding cards (aces, kings, queens, the 10 and jack of trumps, and Q and J for a possible 500-point double bezique). Yet each player can hold just eight cards! If you have a big meld near the end of the game -- for example, Q- Q- J- J -- you may not have time to meld it in two stages to score an extra 40 points. Your opponent may see through that plan and prevent you from winning a second trick and the additional 500 points.

Now that you've learned the basics of classic Bezique, move on to the next section to discover two challenging variations -- Rubicon Bezique and Classic Bezique. Up Next Bezique - definition of bezique by The Free Dictionary Bezique - definition of bezique by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . be·zique (bə-zēk′) n. 1. A trick-taking card game for two players that is played with a special deck of 64 cards consisting of the 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A cards from two different decks. 2. The combination of the queen of spades and the jack of diamonds in this game, worth 40 points. [French bésigue, possibly from Italian bazzica, a kind of card game.] bezique (bɪˈziːk) n 1. (Card Games) a card game for two or more players with tricks similar to whist but with additional points scored for honours and sequences: played with two packs with nothing below a seven 2.

(Card Games) (in this game) the queen of spades and jack of diamonds declared together [C19: from French bésigue, of unknown origin] be•zique a card game resembling pinochle but played with more cards. [1860–65; < French bésigue, bézigue] ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. bezique - a card game played with a pack of forty-eight cards (two of each suit for high cards); play resembles whist card game , cards - a game played with playing cards Translations Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: pinocle References in periodicals archive ? Luca Cumani's latest Italian import Bezique hasbeenabsent for over a year and has to be watched on his British debut unless the market speaks in his favour . Could beaw alkinthe park forBaref oot Lady A ladies' loo has been installed, I'm sure I clocked a bottle of Bezique behind the bar and Tam Parks is now selling food.

On the Wish list; After filling his face with Florida's fast food, Tam savours guid Scots face in the culinary capital of downtown Wishaw EATING OUT ARTISAN 249 MAIN STREET, WISHAW plants--to colonize), perithecium, EES eesome (attractive to the eye), teesoo (Dhak flowers) ES Esau, thesis, obese IC ici, police IES gieseckite (variety pinite), Schoenflies (mathematician) IS isblink, artiste, piste, ambergris, kris ISS pelisse (a fur garment), camiss (a Muslim shirt) OES oestrin AES aestivation, quaestor EAS Easter, yeast, grease, increase EEC fleece, Greece EIS eis-blink, leister (a fishing spear) EYS keystone IEC piece IIS iisblink (a luminous appearance on the horizon) caused by the reflection of light from ice) OEC oecist (the founder of an ancient Greek colony), dioecy IX Dix (the lowest trump in Bezique and other card games) short 's' sound followed by long 'E' sound.

Rules for Pinochle and Bezique ♠ Links » Pinochle Pinochle is a derivative of Bezique, a 2 player game of French origin still widely played in Europe. Bezique was popular in Paris gaming establishments in the 19th century, and appeared briefly in Britain around the 1860s but never really gained in popularity. In America, however, the game was eagerly embraced and quickly gave rise to a number of variations of which one of them is Pinochle. Pinochle is a great card game for two players that employs a combination of meld-making and trick taking. It has two distinct stages of play, so the objectives and dynamics shift. The Objective The objective is to score points by making melds of certain combinations as set out below, and by winning tricks with valuable cards in them. Because each player has twelve cards, and the stack will be exhausted after twelve tricks, the play has two very important stages, and the rules and the objectives shift. The game can be played to a grand total of 1000 points over several hands. There are many variations, but most of them concern the number of cards or value of melds.

The basic dynamics of the game remain the same, so we will explain a standard version here. The Deck Take two decks of standard playing cards and strip out the 8’s and down. That will give you two decks of 24 cards that you combine to make one deck of 48 cards. Therefore you’ll have two of each card in your deck. A total of 8 Kings, 8 Queens, 8 Jacks etcetera. Rank and Value For the purposes of Trick-Taking, the cards rank A, K, Q, J, 10, 9 . The value of those cards won in a trick and counted up as points at the end of the hand are: A = 11 10=10 The Deal Players cut to deal, and 12 cards are dealt to each player, in batches of three and four, whereupon the next card is turned face up and left protruding from beneath the remaining stack. This card determines the Trump Suit. Left of the dealer leads first, and thereafter whoever wins the trick leads to the next. A player leads by placing a card face up on the table, and the opponent responds by playing one of their cards face up in reply.

After each trick, each player draws a card from the stack, winner first, until it is exhausted, and then they play out their remaining cards in hand. While there are still cards to draw, the following rules apply. A player may lead any card, and the opponent has no obligation to follow suit The trick is won by the highest Trump card played to it. If no trumps are played, the Trick is won by the highest card of the suit led Upon winning a Trick, a player may meld Upon winning a trick, a player may meld. Of course, that means that if you don’t win the trick, you can’t meld. There is no particular incentive to win tricks in this stage, unless they offer a valuable card or the player wishes to meld. The players use this period of play to through off certain cards they don’t want, and prepare their hand for the Play-Off. There is, however, the opportunity to make melds and score points that way. And this is an opportunity that doesn’t last forever. After just twelve tricks, the stack will be exhausted, and then the time for meld-making is over, and the rules change.

Rules on Making Melds Upon winning a trick, and before drawing from the stack, a player may meld any of the combinations displayed below, and score immediately its point value. A player may make only one meld in turn. Class A Q♠, J♦ 40 pts The Pinochle is always the Q♠, J♦ regardless of the Trump. However, some play that if Spades or Diamonds are Trumps, pinochle is redefined as Q♣ , J♥ . A player melds by placing one of the combinations face up on the table, where they remain until they are played or led to a trick at the player’s discretion, as if they were cards in his/her hand. As far as taking cards from one meld and combining them with others to make a another meld the following rules apply At least one card must come from your hand. You can’t just re-arrange cards on the table and call them melds. You have to draw at least one from your hand. You can meld up, but you can’t meld down. That means you can take a card or cards from a lower meld class, and place them together with some cards from your hand to form a meld in a higher class.

The meld doesn’t have to be of higher value, per se, just further up the tree. Therefore you can also meld up in the same class. In such a case the new meld must be higher scoring. For example, if you had the Pinochle laid down, the Q♠ J♦ and then later found the three other Queens in your hand, upon winning a trick, you could place the three Queens down, and place the Queen of Spades next to them to complete the quartet. Likewise, you could use one of those Queens to make a marriage or join the Trump Flush in the A – Class, remembering that at least one card must come from your hand to make a meld. But, you couldn’t take a King or Queen from a Marriage (Class A), and use it to meld a quartet in Class B. What about adding just one King or one Queen to an already existing marriage? The answer is no. Not even if you have played one of those cards out to a trick. If you want another marriage in the same suit, you must use an entirely new pair of King and Queen in that suit. They can come one from your hand and one from a lower meld – that’s o.k.

– but not adding a different King to the same Queen. Melding the Deece The ‘deece’ is the lowest trump, which is the 9 in a 48 card deck. Melding this on its own gives you 10 points. It is not necessary to ‘meld’ the deece in the manner that you do all other melds. You simply need to declare it, which can be done as you lay out another meld. At this time, you can exchange the deece face up for the original trump turned up at the deal. ‘Melding the deece’ does not constitute a ‘melding turn’. You can also collect the 10 points for the deece simply by declaring it as it is played to a trick. Each play then consists of a lead, and a play. The winner has option to meld, and then winner first, each draws a card from the stack. Eventually, however, after just twelve tricks, the stack is exhausted.

As you draw to the close, the winner of the 12th trick has the option to meld as usual, and then draws the last face down card from the stack and shows it to their opponent who draws the face up card, the last and final card of the stack. Now, the rules change, and we play a different game. The Play-Off This is the home stretch, the last mile, the dash and pound to the finish line. It’s about this time that you’d be thinking Pinochle would be a better game if you had to follow suit. As usual, the winner of the previous trick leads first and the following rules apply. Each player must follow suit to the card led, if possible, and try to win the trick by playing a higher card. If unable to follow suit, a Player must play a Trump if possible If a Trump is led, a Player must try to beat it with a Higher Trump In this manner the last 12 Tricks are played out. The winner of the last trick scores 10 for it. Players then take all the cards they have won in their tricks, and count up their value. This total is added to their score as points.

Counting up all the Aces and all the Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens equates to 240 points. So, between the two players, there should be a total of 240. For example, if I score 130, you must have 110! Points are awarded in increments of 10. So anything smaller than 7 is rounded down. That means that if you score 136, that equals 130, but if you score 137, that equals 140. If both of you score totals like 126 v’s 114, each scores 120 and 110 respectively, and the missing ten points are simply lost to the game. The points you score, come from melds which you have made within the first 12 plays, which you award as they are laid down. And you score points as the total value of all the cards you have captured in Tricks which you count up at the end of play. Scoring Because Pinochle can be a fun fast rolling card game, many players draw chips from a common stack to represent their score.

As you lay down a meld, you merely draw the number of chips that represent its value and lead to the next trick. This way you’re not hampered by pencil and paper, stopping and writing, while you’re playing cards. Variations There are many variations in Pinochle and some of them concern the rank and value of cards, or the number of cards or decks used. The basic strategies and objectives remain the same, and in this regard Pinochle remains true to its derivative, Bezique. Some play that the cards rank A, 10, K, Q, J, 9 with the same point values as listed above. Some also play that in the first twelve tricks, the 10s ranks above the Kings, but in the last 12 tricks the 10s rank as usual between the J and 9. Their point value (10) nevertheless remains the same. Also, for scoring purposes, it can be easier math to value the cards Ace and Kings at 10 points, Jacks and Queens at 5, and Tens like 9s, no value at all. This is common practice and makes scoring much less tedious.

Some play that the winner of the 12th trick may look at, and choose which of the last two cards they prefer. There are many more variations of Pinochle that involve numbers of decks, and the point-value of melds, double melds and so on. Once the basic game is played within these rules, then the variations become ways of extending the game, or placing more emphasis on one aspect more than the other. Pinochle should not be looked upon as a passive meld making game like Rummy, where you lay down melds till you run out of cards. In Pinochle, your hand is always being replenished, and new opportunities arise. Building a basis from low melds can lay the building blocks for higher melds, like a kind of march forward that lays out more and more of your cards on the table, while scoring handsomely for them. Of course, the flip side is, all your cards are out so it’s pretty easy to see what you’ve got. While you’re making melds and drawing cards, you also need to be spending some time brushing off and getting rid of cards you really don’t want later, when you have to follow suit.

Your attention should be quietly arranging your cards, setting up your hand to see you through the home stretch at the play off. That’s why Pinochle is such a good game. It has these two stages, and there are always opportunities to score. Auction Pinochle - Three Player Pinochle Although the game can be played almost identically above by three players, that practice gave way to a much more popular form of Auction Pinochle, which, it just so happens, has the unusual peculiarity of being an excellent game for three players. Objective: The player who calls the highest bid, the Bidder, attempts to fulfil his/her contract by scoring points in melds and cards in tricks won. The other two players team up to defeat the Bidder. The Deal A standard Pincochle 48 card deck is dealt out to each player in batches of 3 and 4 in such a manner that each player ends up with 15 cards, and there are 3, face down cards in the middle called the ‘Widow’. Beginning left of the dealer, each player takes it in turn to bid or pass. Once having passed, the player cannot re-enter the bidding process.

Beginning at 300, each bid must be higher than the previous. The bid represents the number of points the player thinks he/she can score. Once the bidding is settled, and the contract made, the Bidder turns the three cards of the Widow so that all players can see, and then adds them to his/her hand. The Bidder then names the Trump suit and lays out his melds and scores for them as usual as set out in the table above. No other players meld. Only the bidder. Once this is done, the Bidder takes up his cards and discards 3 face down for the Widow. These will be counted at the end of play together with the cards he/she wins in tricks. The Play The Bidder leads first, and thereafter whoever wins the trick leads to the next. The same rules apply as in the play off. You must follow suit. You must try to win the trick, if possible. At the end of play, the Bidder takes up his/her cards, including those discarded to the Widow, and counts up his/her total. The points he/she has made in his melds and won in his tricks make up his total.

If the Bidder’s total is greater than or equal to the amount he bid, he makes his contract and each player will ‘pay’ him the amount of his bid and no more. If the Bidder has scored more, the opponents only pay him the amount bid. That means, if the Bidder called 300, it’s a deficit of 300 points from each opponent and a reward of 600 points to the Bidder. On the other hand, if the Bidder fails to make his bid, he/she pays an amount equal his bid to each opponent – in the above example that’s 300 to each player, a deficit of 600 points. And each of the opponents gains 300 points. All Fours, Rules of Card Games Card Backs All Fours The distinguishing feature of card games in the "All Fours Family" is that even though standard trick taking rules apply, it is still legal to play a trump at any time, regardless of the lead. All Fours originated in England where it began to be played around the 17th century.

It became very popular in the 19th century in America and gave rise to several other games including "Pitch" , "Double Pedro" and a two player variation called "California Jack" . All Fours, is played widely in Trinidad and Tobago where it is the standard card game for all occassions, and in Lancashire, England. All Fours is played by four players in two fixed-partnerhips, but is not particularly well suited to two or three players. For a three player variation, see Seven Up . The Cards Standard Deck of 52 cards. Cards rank: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Objective The object of the game is to score points by winning tricks with valuable cards in them. For the purposes of scoring Game Point, A-10 are given the following values: A = 4 J = 1 10 = 10 The team who have accrued a greater total from counting up the cards they have won in tricks will score one point for "Game".

In addition, there are points for taking the Jack of trumps in a trick, and for the holders of the highest and lowest trumps dealt. A team also has an opportunity to score at the deal. The Deal As it is played in England, deal and play are clockwise, and the deal proceeds to the left at the end of each hand. To begin, players cut to deal, and whoever gets the highest card deals first. After that, the deal passes to the left. Each player is dealt six cards, usually in batches of 3. When everyone has six cards, the dealer turns the next card face up, and this sets the Trump Suit. If this turned up card is an Ace, Six or Jack, the dealer's team immediately scores for it as follows: Ace turned up 1 point Six turned up 2 points Jack turned up 3 points If the player on the dealer's left is happy with the Trump suit that was turned up, he says "Stand" and play begins. But if the player on the dealer's left would prefer a different trump suit, he says, "I beg".

The dealer then has the option to either : Keep the suit that was turned up as Trumps or Agree to change Trumps If the dealer decides to keep the trumps as turned up, he says, "Take one" and the opponents immediately receive one point and play begins. If the dealer agrees to change the trump suit, he sets aside the turned up card, deals three more cards to each player, and then turns up the next card to determine the trump suit, scoring for it again if it is an Ace, Jack or Six. If this new turn up is of a different suit, play begins with this new suit as trumps. If the new turn up is the same suit as before, the dealer sets it aside and deals another three cards to each player and turns up another card, scoring again if it is an Ace, Jack or Six. This procedure is repeated until the turn produces a new trump suit. If the deck is exhausted before a new trump suit is found, the entire deck is reshuffled and redealt. The dealer's team keeps any points they have scored for turned up cards. The Play The player on the dealer's left leads first, and thereafter the winner of the trick leads to the next.

Any card can be led, but players must follow these rules. Rules If a trump is led, you must follow suit, if possible. If you can't follow suit, you can play any card. If a card of a plain suit is led, then you can either follow suit, OR you may play a trump. But if you don't play a trump, then you still must follow suit, if possible. There is no obligation to play a Trump. The trick is won by the highest trump card played to it. If no trumps are played it is won by the highest card of the suit led. As you can see in All Fours, it is always legal to play a trump. So, if spades are Trumps, and someone leads a Diamond, and you have Diamonds and Spades, you can play a Spade and try and win the Trick. Scoring Once everyone's cards have been played, points are scored for cards Dealt and for cards Won. The points are awarded in this strict order.

High 1 or 3 points If the Jack of Trumps is retained by the team to whom it was dealt, it's worth 1 point but if the Jack of Trumps was captured from the team to whom it was dealt, it is worth 3 points. Game 1 point At the end of play, each team adds up the cards they have Won in tricks assigning the values to each A=4, K=3, Q=2, J=1 and 10=10. And declares their Total. The team with the highest total is awarded 1 point for Game. If both teams have the same Total no one gets Game Point. The first team to reach 14 wins the game. It is important to remember that the points are awarded in this order; High, Low, Jack, Game. If both teams are tied on 12, and Team A wins points ‘Game’ and ‘Jack’, but Team B wins points ‘High’ and ‘Low’, Team B will win the game because they reach 14 first. Irregularities Misdeal: If the dealer gives the wrong number of cards to the players, the opponents score one point for a misdeal, and the deal passes to the left.

Reneging: This occurs when the player fails to follow suit as the rules accord when he could have. There is no penalty provided the player corrects his own error before the end of the Trick. But an opposing player may call the revoke at any time up to the end of the hand. In that case, the penalties are as follows: If the player failed to follow a trump lead with trumps when they held one or more of the top five trumps, that player's team loses the whole of the game. A new game is started If the player failed to follow suit off a Trump lead when they held a small trump, the opponents are awarded 1 point and the offenders cannot win point for Game. If the player failed to follow suit off a Non-trump lead, the opponents are awarded 1 point, and the offenders cannot win point for game. Calling: If a player exposes a card other than in normal play, it must be left face up on the table. The opponents can then "call" for this card to be played on any subsequent trick, provided it is played in accordance with the rules.

Variations Being a game popular in the United States by the 19th Century, a number of variations to the basic All Fours family, have been designed, including a number of variations for three and two players: Double Pedro : Four Players in two fixed-partnerships. Marjolet Marjolet Rubicon Bezique , Chinese Bezique , Zetema Hereï¿½s a great introduction to the challenging, strategic games of the Bezique/Pinochle family. If youï¿½re only familiar with trick-taking and rummy games, you owe it to yourself to try these. Marjolet is a quick, elegant game for two played in southwest France. After this we provide the rules for Bezique , the parent to Pinochle and one of the most enduringly popular card games. Bezique is like a two-deck Marjolet. Then we present Bezique variants: Polish , Rubicon , and Chinese Bezique . We wrap up with Zetema , a fun game lost to history. Goal of the Game-- To win a hand by scoring the most points. You score by taking Aces and Tens in tricks (called brisques), and by declaring melds (sets of matched cards).

To win a game across hands by being the first to make 500 or more points. The Deck and the Deal-- The game uses the 32-card ï¿½French deck.ï¿½ Create it by removing all cards below the 7 from a standard 52-card deck. The remaining 32 cards rank-- A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7. Note that the 10 is the second-highest card, ranking right below the Ace. Deal each player 6 cards. Turn one card up and lay it next to the remaining part of the deck (the stock). The turned-up card dictates the Trump suit for the hand. The Play-- The non-dealer leads a card to the first trick. His opponent can play any card (you are not required to follow suit). The trick is won by the higher card of the suit led, or by a trump to any non-trump lead. The winner of the trick may declare one or more melds if he cares to. He then takes the top card of the stock into his hand, and his opponent takes the next card. The trick winner then leads any card to the next trick.

In this manner, the two opponents play cards to tricks, declare melds, and draw through the entire deck. Honor Melds-- Winning a trick allows a player to declare any of these melds-- ---Meld--- Trump Jack and any non-Trump Queen 20 Melds are placed face-up in front of the player who declares them. These face-up cards may later be used by that player just like the cards in his hand (played to tricks when desired). A melded card can be used in other melds as well. For example, a Queen might be melded with a King of the same suit in a Marriage, then melded a second time later as part of a Trump-Jack-plus-Queen combination. The trump Jack (called the Marjolet) may be re-melded to different Queens. The Seven of Trump (the Dix)-- The seven of trump, or the dix, is special. If the dealer turns it up as the trump card when dealing, he scores 10 points. If a player has the dix in his hand, after winning a trick, he may exchange it for the turn-up trump. The player scores 10 points for the exchange.

Or if he does not exchange, he scores 10 points when playing the dix to a trick (it does not matter whether or not he wins the trick). The ï¿½Closeï¿½ -- and More on Scoring-- Eventually, one player draws the last face-down card from the stock, and his opponent takes the turn-up trump. The deck from which to draw is now exhausted or closed. Both players now take any of their melded cards on the table up into their hands Now the rules of trick-play change. For these last six tricks, you must follow the suit led, if possible, and win the trick if possible. If you can not follow suit, you must trump if possible (if you can not trump, you may play any card). Players may still declare melds after the close, if able. The winner of the last trick scores 10 points. Should either player win all six tricks after closing, he wins 50 points. Also, the winner of the 10th trick in the hand scores 10 points. After the hand ends, both players count their Aces and 10ï¿½s. They score 10 points for each.

Scoring Summary-- Here is a scoring summary for all points outside of the honor melds-- ---Event--- Dealer turns up a seven for the trump card 10 Seven of trumps (dix) played to trick or exchanged for the turn-up 10 Winning the 10th trick in the hand 10 Winning all six final tricks 50 Each Ace taken in tricks (Brisque) 10 Each 10 taken in tricks (Brisque) 10 Win tricks for two purposes in this game-- (1) To score by taking Aces and 10ï¿½s in tricks (2) To enable you to declare melds Part of the tension in the game is the balance between the cards you play to tricks, versus those you keep in hand in hopes of making melds. Ideally you assemble meldable cards in hand while playing low cards to tricks, yet keeping a ï¿½trick winnerï¿½ in hand for when needed. Another tension is between winning Aces and 10ï¿½s in tricks, versus casting them off on occasion to develop melds.

In many hands, one player scores more in melds while his opponent scores more in brisques (Aces and 10ï¿½s). Be flexible in the melds you chase. A good memory for what cards have been played is essential. More Information-- The only book in English that covers Marjolet is Oxford A-Z of Card Games by David Parlett. This is the first write-up of this game on the web in English and it conforms to Parlett. The ï¿½Recommended Rule Changesï¿½ are our own. Marjolette -- an enhanced Marjolet for playability -- Playing Marjolet convinced me that altering the rules increases playability. I changed a half dozen key rules to transform it into a new game I call Marjolette. Here are the complete rules to Marjolette . A Bezique Rubicon Bezique , Chinese Bezique , Zetema Bezique is an expanded version of Marjolet (above). It can be played with two, four, six, or even eight decks. Each variant features an expanded and ever more complex set of melds. Here we describe the classic -- Bezique for two, played with two 32-card French decks.

Bezique is unusual among card games in that it has a life cycle. Your hand matures through the course of the game. If you start with poor cards, for example, you will likely build your hand through the game and still score. Conversely, if you are dealt lucky cards, after a blitz of melding you may find yourself struggling to reconstitute your hand. The lyrical feel of the life cycle underlies Beziqueï¿½s enduring appeal. To keep things simple (and reward your patience for reading the above Marjolet rules), we list only the differences between Bezique and Marjolet rules here. Weï¿½ve enhanced traditional Bezique rules with a few minor changes of our own. The section ï¿½Enhanced Rulesï¿½ at the end enumerates these small improvements to standard Bezique. The Deck and Deal-- Use two 32-card French decks. So you will have a duplicate set of cards, Ace down to 7. Deal eight cards to each of the players (instead of the six each dealt in Marjolet). A game across hands in two-deck Bezique is 1000 points (not 500 as in Marjolet).

The Play-- The rules of trick-taking are the same as in Marjolet. One new situation may come up. If two identical cards are played to a trick, the first card played wins the trick. Scoring Summary-- This chart summarizes Bezique scoring. The main differences from Marjolet are: * You can now score for a Sequence (A-10-K-Q-J) in any one suit. The Trump Sequence scores 250 points, while non-Trump Sequence score 120. * There is no Marjolet. Instead, the Bezique is the unique combination of the Queen of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds. This scores 40 points. The Double Bezique (both Queens of Spades and both Jacks of Diamonds) scores 350 points. * There is no special bonus for winning the eight tricks after closing the deck, nor do you score 10 points for winning the 10th trick in the hand. * You can declare only one meld after winning a trick. A card can participate in different melds in different turns. However, you can only score a second time for a card when you place it into a different kind of meld.

Example- you could score a Queen of Diamonds together with a King of Diamonds in one turn for a Marriage. After winning another trick, you could add the Ace, 10, and Jack of Diamonds to score the lot for a Sequence. But you could not just add a different King of Diamonds to the Queen to score a second time for another Marriage. ---Meld or Scoring Event--- 10 Strategy-- As with Marjolet, there is tension between winning Brisques and scoring melds. The player who wins in one category tends to lose in the other. There is no question that melds offer the greatest rewards. Flexibility in the melds you pursue and a good memory count for much in Bezique. No mistake is worse than seeking a card for a meld that is no longer available. Youï¿½ll have to keep track of more cards than in Marjolet -- there are eight of each rank. Building melds is a winning technique. This means scoring a card in a simple meld, then melding it again in a larger meld for more points. For example, meld a King and Queen of the same suit and score for a Marriage.

Then add the Ace, 10, and Jack of the same suit for a Sequence. Or score a Spade Queen and Diamond Jack for a Bezique. Then, add the other Spade Queen and Diamond Jack and score a Double Bezique. Enhanced Rules-- This section describes the minor rules changes in the above from those of ï¿½standard Bezique.ï¿½ Rules about the Dix vary in different sources. Here weï¿½ve used a simple approach, consistent with the Marjolet rules above. Standard Bezique rules do not allow melding after the close. This renders the last eight tricks anti-climatic. Allowing melding after closing increases suspense and leads to exciting conclusions. Standard rules score the Double Bezique at 500 points. This betrays Beziqueï¿½s pre-modern origins. Weï¿½ve reduced the score for this meld more in line with its statistical probability of occurrence. Weï¿½ve added the Non-trump Sequence meld, typically only scored in 4, 6, and 8 deck versions of Bezique. It adds interest to the game. Many books discuss how you can declare more than one meld per turn while still scoring but one per turn.

Weï¿½ve eliminated this needless complexity. More Information-- All comprehensive rule books for card games include Bezique. Our favorite is the book Oxford A-Z of Card Games by David Parlett. Polish Bezique Hereï¿½s a wild twist on Bezique that only changes a single rule. All rules are the same as for Bezique above , except that melds are created solely from cards you capture in tricks. Leave tricks face-up on the table as you win them. After every trick, you may score either one or two melds. You create these melds by using the two new cards you have won, added to the other cards youï¿½ve previously won in tricks. Each of the two new cards you have won can participate in only one meld... this is why you can declare two melds after winning a trick. You can continue to meld after the Close (unlike standard Bezique rules). Some books state that each card can only be used in one meld in Polish Bezique. Rubicon Bezique Rubicon (or Japanese Bezique) is like standard Bezique described above except that you play with 128 cards (4 packs of 32 cards). The only rule differences are-- 1.

Deal each player 9 cards (instead of 8) 2. The trump suit is dictated by the suit of the first marriage or sequence scored 3. The seven of trumps (dix) has no special value. 4. The last trick is worth 50 points (rather than 10) 5. Non-trump sequence scores 150 points (A-10-K-Q-J). 6. You score 50 points for carte blanche if you are dealt no court cards. You can re-score this each time you draw without fetching a court card. 7. After melding to the table, you can move a card out of that meld (to a trick or another meld), then re-create that meld with a replacement card. Example-- declare a trump sequence in hearts, next turn move the king from that sequence to another meld or play it to a trick, then play another king into the meld and score again for the trump sequence 8. Two marriages of the same suit can be considered rearranged to form two more marriages. 9.

Standard rules score one bezique at 40 points, two beziques at 500 points, three beziques at 1,500 points, and four beziques at 4,500 points. We recommend-- one bezique 40 points, double bezique 350 points, triple bezique 700 points, quadruple bezique 1400 points. 9. Each deal is a complete game. Players total their points and round down to the nearest 100. Winner gains 500 points plus the difference between playersï¿½ scores. A player is ï¿½rubiconedï¿½ if fails to score 1000 points. In this case the winner scores 1000 points plus the sum of both scores. Brisiques (Aces and 10ï¿½s taken in tricks) are only counted in case of ties or to prevent a rubicon. Chinese Bezique 6-pack or Chinese Bezique is played the same way as Rubicon Bezique (above) except for these rules changes-- 1. Use 6 decks of cards (A -> 7), 192 cards total.

Each player is dealt 12 cards (instead of 9). 2. Carte blanche scores 250 points each occurrence. The last trick scores 250 points as well. 3. Additional declarations are: 4 trump Aces = 1,000 4 trump 10ï¿½s = 900 4 trump Kings = 800 4 trump Queens = 600 4 trump Jacks = 400 4. A player is rubiconed if he fails to score 3,000 points. The rubicon bonus is 1,000 points. Strategy -- This game is much longer than standard or Rubicon Bezique (youï¿½re drawing through a much bigger deck). Since you can ï¿½re-declareï¿½ a meld multiple times simply be replacing a single card within it, there is a premium on obtaining high-scoring melds early in the game and re-scoring them multiple times. Trump sequences work well, especially if you can overlap their suit with beziques or a 4-of-a-kind.

Another strategy is to obtain a 4-of-a-kind (preferably in Aces), re-score it many times, and hope to convert it to 4-of-a-kind in trumps (scored extra). Note that 10ï¿½s have a new-found value (4-of-a-kind in trump 10ï¿½s scores 900 points), and that while there is scoring for triple and quadruple beziques, there is no score specifically for quintuple or sextuple beziques. A Marriage Rubicon Bezique , Chinese Bezique , Zetema Zetema was invented about 1871, published in an 1881 games book, then quietly forgotten. While based on a novel concept, Zetema has minor defects that likely led to its demise. In 1969, game expert Sid Sackson rediscovered Zetema and recognized the game's potential. He corrected its rules and modernized it. Then he published it in his book, A Gamut of Games. This led to renewed interest in this novel game among the cognoscenti. Like Bezique , Zetema features a game lifecyle.

The game feels like a cross between Bezique and Rummy. It's flexible -- from 2 to 6 can play. 3 works especially well. 4 or 6 play best in partnerships. The partnerships for 6 may be either 2 partnerships of 3 each or 3 partnerships of 2 each. Zetema is not one of the world's great games, so perhaps it doesn't really earn its place on this web site. But Sacksonï¿½s modern corrections make it quite enjoyable. (Our rules here follow Sacksonï¿½s). Try Zetema and step back into the minds of the Victorians through a game that reflects their love of the ornate. The game also offers strategic interest. Goal-- For two or three players, the goal is to be the first to score at least 300 points across as many hands as necessary. If four or more play, the winning total is 200 points. The Deck and Deal-- Zetema uses a 65 card deck. This is a regular deck of 52 cards, plus one "duplicated suit" from another deck.

Make the Zetema deck by taking the 13 Spades from a second deck and shuffling them into a regular 52 card deck. The duplicate suit is called the imperial suit. Use Spades as the imperial suit for consistency and convenience. For two to five players, deal 6 cards each. For six players, deal 5 cards each. (In the game description that follows, we assume a 6-card hand). Play-- In each turn, a player performs these three steps-- 1. Draws as many cards as necessary to bring his hand up to six cards 2. Plays one meld or combination (if possible and if desired) 3. Discards one card to the tableau The Tableau-- A player ends his turn by discarding one card to the tableau. The tableau is rather like the layout of a solitaire game. There are 13 different piles of cards, one for each rank. Discards are placed face-up in skewed stacks so that every card is visible. Scoring Combinations-- A player can score for one combination in each turn.

The combinations that may be scored are-- Combinations 150 A single marriage Any marriage in the duplicated suit scores an extra 10 points when fewer than 5 are declared You can score for one combination in a turn. To do so, display the meld to your opponent, write down the score for the combination, then end your turn by discarding one card from the combination to the tableau. The tableau consists of 13 piles of face-up cards, one pile for each rank. If the combination is a marriage, special rules apply. A marriage consists of a King and Queen in the same suit. You can declare any number of marriages in one turn (the more you declare at once, the more points you score). Of these one or more marriages, only one card need be from your hand. Any other cards required may be taken from the tableau. So marriages consist of one or more pairs of same-suit Kings and Queens, any number of which may be from the tableau, as long as at least one card is from your hand. Declare marriages by showing them to your opponent. Score them, then place them all face-up in their own marriage discard pile.

This face-up discard pile is for marriages only (it is not part of the tableau). Scoring Zetemas-- After a player declares his combination for a turn (if any), he discards one card, face-up, to the proper pile in the tableau. If this card is the fifth one for that rank, the player scores points for a zetema. Zetemas score these points-- ---Zetema--- Aces or 5ï¿½s 15 5 U.S. Playing Card Stamps 2011 After a player scores a zetema, he places those cards face-down in a special zetema discard pile. These cards no longer participate in the hand. Ending a Hand-- Once the stock is exhausted, players can no longer draw cards at the start of their hands. They continue to play by discarding cards to the tableau and scoring zetemas. Any player who can not continue simply drops out while the other players finish. In a two-player game, any player completing a zetema is required to continue playing as long as he can do so. He continues to discard and complete any zetemas he can. Then he discards one card to end his turn, as always.

Strategy-- First, note a couple elements of play. If a single marriage is declared, no one will ever score a zetema for Kings or Queens because scoring even one marriage makes it impossible to ever accumulate 5 Kings or Queens in the tableau. Assemblies are statistically difficult to attain. They tend to tie up your hand while you seek the necessary cards. Their high scores may not counterbalance these downsides. If you seek marriages, you must decide whether to accumulate a large number of them for one large score, or to score for them piecemeal. The scoring chart shows that declaring a larger number of marriages increases the points awarded per marriage. The downside is that the larger number of marriages is harder to achieve and ties up your hand while you chase them. Kings and Queens in the tableau you might want to use are exposed to your opponent while you try for the larger number of marriages. An very effective Zetema strategy is to try for flushes, sequences, and flush sequences in the imperial suit. Since the suit is duplicated, your chances of getting cards in this suit are higher. After a score, you discard one card from the combination you just declared.

This opens up the flush or sequence for you to reconstitute and score for again, just by adding a single card. The likelihood of getting such a card is high in the duplicated suit. An important decision is whether to go for assemblies, marriages, or flushes, sequences, and flush sequences. Assemblies are tough to get, since you must draw all five cards of one rank from the deck. Marriages are much easier, but your strategy may be exposed to disruption by your opponent if he marries any Kings or Queens on the tableau before you meld them. The flushes-sequences-flush sequences strategy offers multiple scores using the same cards. It is especially statistically inviting when you work with the imperial suit. Whatever combinations you try for, watch your opponent's discards to the tableau. This information tells you what cards you'll never draw and gives strong clues as to what cards your opponent has. It even discloses the combinations he may be striving for. Enhanced Rules-- The rules above are standard Zetema with this one enhancement -- play stops immediately in standard Zetema once a player attains the game score of either 200 or 300 points. This happens even if players are in the middle of a hand.

We've simplified the game by allowing players to fully play out the last hand. Otherwise you must keep running point totals while playing. More Information-- These rules are those published in Sid Sackson's A Gamut of Games and David Parlett's Oxford A-Z of Card Games . Their rules differ in minor but vital respects from those of the original game as published in the late 1800's. Other sources for Zetema rules exist but are rare. The Card Players, Rules of Card Games: Bezique Home Page > Classified Index > Trick Taking Games > Ace-Ten Games > Marriage Group > Bezique Bezique Bezique originated in France in the early 19th century as Bésigue. It was extremely fashionable in Britain in the early 20th century, and was Winston Churchill's favourite card game. Although its popularity declined in the late 20th century, it still has many devoted players. Bezique is a two-player card game, and the basic version is played with a double pack of 64 cards (two copies of A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7 in each suit). In its heyday, variations for larger numbers of cards were invented.

The American game Pinochle is very similar in structure, especially in its two-player form . Sharon Clarke's description of Bezique: The Card Game is published on the BBC web site. Here is an archive copy of Chris Herring's rules for Six Pack Bezique . Howard Fosdick's web site has rules of Bezique and Polish Bezique . Rules of Bezique are available on the Card Game Heaven site. Jean-François Bustarret's site has rules in French version for Bésigue . Here is a page describing a version of Bésigue played in Haiti. A shareware Bezique program which supports network and offline play is available from Meggiesoft Games. A free trial version is available. A shareware Bezique program for Windows is available from Games Galore. A free trial version is available. The Cardmaster package includes a 4-pack Rubicon Bezique computer program.

Question: Which is the lowest card used in the game of Bezique?
Answer: SEVEN